Electroplating anode and mount



Jan. 30, 1951 A. ZANETTI ET AL 2,539,502

ELECTROPLATING ANODE AND MQUNT Filed June 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan.30, 1951 A. ZANETTl ET AL 2,539,502

ELECTROPLATING ANODE AND MOUNT Filed June 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

Patented Jan. 30, 1951 OFFICE ELECTROPLATING ANDDE AND MOUNT AngeloZanetti and Leonce C. Testut, New York, N. Y.

Application June 21, 1946, Serial No. 678,179

1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

This invention relates to electroplating and in particular to an anodefor use in plating both main and crank-throw journals of crankshafts.

In numerous instances it is desirable and neces sary to maintain machineparts and the like at substantially predetermined dimensions by periodiccoating or plating thereof. For example, when crankshaft journals areworn until they no longer meet the minimum specified tolerances, thejournals are chrome plated to increase their diameters.

For uniform plating, the anode must be below the surface to be plated;therefore in plating a crankshaft the crankshaft must be rotating sothat the plating is concentric with the surface of the journal. Theanode must also be held close to the journal to be plated. Crankshaftjournals have been creme plated previously with a roller type anode butoccasionally short circuits occurred causing the surface of the journalto be burned. Also the plating was sometimes uneven and was not alwaysdeposited on the fillets of the shafts. With use of the new anode ofthis invention the percentage of shorts and burns is greatly reduced;the plating is much more even; and the plating is readily deposited onthe fillets and cheeks of the shafts.

An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for the platingof journals of crankshafts.

Another object is to provide an anode and anode holder for use inplating worn main and crank-throw journals of crankshafts.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, as well itsconstruction, arrangement and operation, will be apparent from thefollowing description and claim in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the anode according to one form of theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the anode shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the carrier of the anode shown inFig. 1 taken along the line Fig. i is a cross-sectional View of theanode shown in Fig. 1, taken along the line 4-4.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a crank-- shaft supported in a rackwith the anodes attached.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the anode generally designated 20 consists ofa lead anode member I i suspended from a cross arm i2, which is weldedto a guide rod 53 and a carrier it. The carrier I4 is attached to, butinsulated from, guide rod amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 75"!) 53 bymeans of insulating material 2| and carrier it rides on, but isinsulated from, the journal to be plated by means of glass pins l5 andI6. The glass pins to and it keep the anode member ll centrally locatedwith respect to the cheeks of the crankshaft l8 and at a fixed clearancefrom the cheeks and the surface of the journal to be plated. The fourpins I5 are normal to the surface of the journal and maintain the radialclearance between anode member H and the journal. The four pins it areat a 45 angle to the diameter of the journal, as shown in Fig. 3, andmaintain axial clearance between the anode member I I and the checks ofthe crankshaft 3..

As shown in Fig. 4, the lead anode member II has a number of vent holesI! drilled through it to permit free passage of the plating solution andthe gases formed during the plating process. The carr er is has largevent holes Ila in it, as shown in Fig. 2.

Because the shape of the anode is important in connection with thesecuring of uniform deposits, the anodes are carefully formed overaccurate dies, the anodes that are to be used for journals of the sameshape and size being formed on the same die. In this way similarjournals of a single crankshaft is when plated from anodes so made, havedeposited thereon equal amounts of plating.

In chrome plating the journals of a worn crankshaft is, the entiresurface except the journals to be plated is painted with achrome-resistance paint; then crankshaft i8 is suspended by itsextremities in a rack !9, as shown in Fig. 5. The anodes 2e are thenclamped around the journals to be plated and a tank (not shown),surrounding the crankshaft i8, is filled with the plating solution sothat the surfaces of the solution is above the crankthrow journals attheir highest position. The guide rods :3 of the anodes 20 ride in aslot in a wooden beam 22 so that the anodes are insulated from the racki9 and are held upright as the crankshaft it rotates. Braided copperleads 23 are attached to the upper ends of the guide rods it of anodes29. These leads connect to the rheostat (not shown) that controls thecurrent to the anodes. To cause the crankshaft to rotate during theplating operation, an electric motor 24 mounted on rack it drives asprocket-drive unit 25 through a reduction gear 26, the other end ofthis sprocket drive being connected to crankshaft It is to be understoodthat various modifications and changes can be made in this inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in theappended claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

An electroplating device comprising a carrier having'a surface exposedto an axis, a plurality of vitreous insulating anti-friction locatingelements extending toward the axis from said surface and terminating atradially-equal distances from the axis, some of said pins extendingradially and some extending at about a 45 angle to the axis, aninsulating member on said carrier remote from said surface, a conductivesupport mounted on said member and insulated from said carrier, saidsupport having spaced port-ions extending on opposite sides of the axis,and an electrode fastened to said spaced support portions, saidelectrode being on the opposite side of the axis from 20 said carrierand below the axis, said electrode between said portions having asurface exposed to the axis, the intersection of said electrode surfaceand a plane normal to the axis forming an are about the axis as a centerof less than 180 and concave toward the axis, the intersection of saidelectrode surface and a plane including the axis forming an arc concavetoward the axis.

ANGELO ZANETTI. LEONCE C. TESTUT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,772,074 Engelhardt Aug. 5, 19301,861,272 Hildorf May 31, 1932 1,880,382 Garling Oct. 4, 1932 1,904,432Fink Apr. 18, 1933 2,072,170 Herzog Mar. 2, 1937 2,422,242 Kaufman June17, 1947 2,473,290 Millard June 14, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 1 8,643 Great Britain of 1899 877,169 France Sept. 1, 1942 OTHERREFERENCES Metal Cleaning and Finishing, June 1933 pages 235 and 238.

